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Thursday, December 05, 2013

Simulated cold

Like many, I am a creature of habit. I have the daily work routine, the foods I like, the diversions I enjoy, the routes I ride or run, the clothing I wear. Like many, my habits bring comfort, but comfort in turn brings complacency. I didn't give a second thought to my attire when I set out for a ride on Wednesday — jersey and shorts, ultralight Pearl Izumi pullover, and a day-glo vest. Roadie layers, designed for what passes for winter here in the Bay Area. Outside there was a nip to the air, and a confirmed temperature of 42 degrees at 300 feet. But it felt pleasant, pedaling hard up Highway 9 and working up a lather of sweat. Just as I crested the hill at 2,700 feet, the sun slipped below the ridge line. Suddenly the air felt ten degrees colder than it had in the shaded canyon. Condensed breath swirled around my face. I reached in the pocket of my now-soaked jersey and pulled out the only extra layers I brought with me — a knit cap and a thin pair of gloves. In front of me was seven miles of fast rolling followed by a ten-mile, winding descent. There would be no more lather of sweat, no more body heat generated by hard work — only wind chill, and the inevitable law that what goes up must come down.

The experience of cold is relative. I've felt toasty at 30 below and near-hypothermic at 45 above. It all comes down to expectation and preparation, and here in California, there's always at least one cold day in December that catches me off guard and re-teaches me that hard lesson. Wednesday was that day. The fingers went first, followed by feet, clad as they were in only well-ventilated shoes and thin socks. Then my face joined my limbs in wooden rigidity. Tingling numbness crept up my arms like a spider, until it became difficult to steer and I involuntarily maneuvered the handlebars into scary jerking motions because my muscles were no longer sending the right signals to my brain. The flash freeze. I am a cyclist prone to complacency, so I know it well.

But I've also accumulated enough cold-weather experience to know this is not the end of the world, at least at these still-forgiving temperatures near freezing with an end close in sight. At 10 degrees or 0 or 30 below, you'd never catch me venturing outside in roadie clothing. "Leave it to cycling companies to make the most useless warm gear ever," I laughed to myself as my teeth chattered audibly. My ears began to burn. My feet grew heavy. My legs felt like they were wrapped in cold meat. The capillaries on my skin tingled with electric sharpness. It was painful and yet it felt so lively, so invigorating, so real. I smiled in spite of myself, a lopsided grin that had to chisel its way through ice-hard cheeks. "This is awful. I can't wait to go to Alaska," I laughed again.

Back in the relative warmth of the valley, I jumped off my bike at a red light and started running in place. A well-bundled bike commuter rolled up beside me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," I said, teeth still chattering. "My feet are cold, just trying to get the feeling back."

Elsewhere, winter abides. Single digits in Utah. Deep subzero in Montana. Freezing rain in Alaska. Here in California, I cuddle up in my fleece blanket and daydream about the cold, the hard-edged kind that draws every life force to the surface and sharpens the senses with renewed vitality. Habits and comfort are often good things; hubris and mistakes often are not. But when the latter gives way to the former, a beautiful cycle of experience begins to happen.

7 comments:

Hi Jill, You always seem to make the best out of a bad situation and still find happiness and satisfaction in what you do. I think that's wonderful. I actually enjoy the challenge of picking the right clothes and usually do ok, but I still carry all kinds of extra gear, lighter and warmer in my backpack. People poke fun at me for the size of my pack, but it gives me peace of mind to know that I have what I might need with me. I hope your training is going well. I'm glad you're not just posting once a week! :-)

You crack me up Jill...you're one of the VERY few people I know (well, sort of know) that ENJOY miserable weather, and even actively seek it out! OK...I lied about the "VERY few"...you're the ONLY one actually. That said, you surely know your own physical limits/boundaries far better than I ever will, cuz I'm such a 'fair weather Fred'.

That you can write about being FREEZING cold and make it sound almost fun is really something. The mental game is everything, and you are a mental GIANT! Stay safe and keep up the great work!

I made the opposite mistake this morning on my commute to work. After being a bit cold on Wednesday, I chose some thicker layers for the predicted temps in the 30s on my way in. Lo and behold, I was sweating halfway to Caltrain and desperately trying to vent.

As we discussed previously, these moderately cold temps are always the hardest to find the right balance. Below 0 its just, bundle up and keep moving. Plus, venting happens QUICK in those temps :-)

What are your plans for Global fat bike day tomorrow? I was hoping to go ride XC trails at Snoqualmie before they open for skiing, but forecast 11F seems too cold. Perhaps Sunday, expected to warm up to 20F. Btw, Northwest Fatbike FB has some info on fat bike meet at Winthrop, WA January 18-19, 2014. Looks like it could be fun.

Global Fat Bike day, eh? I'm headed out to Marin to pace a woman at the North Face 50, which is the largest trail running event of the year around here. It's funny, because it's currently raining hard at 47 degrees here; if the temperature drops a few more degrees, there's a small chance we'll wake up to snow on top of Black Mountain tomorrow. I will be disappointed if I miss out on that. :)

I'm happy to see a morning low of -19 here in Duluth. We received 23" of snow from a storm this week. It was right around freezing during the snowfall. That was miserable. One day I as soaked to the bone after just two hours out in the wet snowfall. I'm very happy for the deep freeze. I can stay warm easier in negative numbers than when it was snowing heavy at 32 degrees. Shaping up to be a long winter here. Love it.